Confidence rebuilt, Tazawa dominating

DETROIT -- It was just shy of five years ago that the Red Sox signed Junichi Tazawa as an international free agent out of Japan, a small but hard-throwing righty with a deep repertoire of secondary pitches. Their investment in Tazawa paid off on Tues

DETROIT -- It was just shy of five years ago that the Red Sox signed Junichi Tazawa as an international free agent out of Japan, a small but hard-throwing righty with a deep repertoire of secondary pitches. Their investment in Tazawa paid off on Tuesday night.

"No bigger moment in, probably, his career than yesterday," John Farrell said.

Called upon to face Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera with runners on first and third and one out in the eighth inning of a one-run game on Tuesday, Tazawa threw four straight fastballs and struck Cabrera out swinging.

Tazawa originally signed and came up through the Red Sox farm system as a starter. But he made the transition to the bullpen shortly after returning from the Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2010 season, and the power in his fastball has played up in relief stints. He posted a 3.16 ERA while striking out 72 and walking 12 in 68 1/3 innings pitched this season.

In a bullpen missing Andrew Bailey and Joel Hanrahan, Tazawa has become the primary righthanded reliever in front of closer Koji Uehara -- and he has made six appearances without allowing an earned run or an inherited runner to score.

He's become a key cog in a bullpen that's been more of an asset than anyone expected it to be before the postseason began.

"I know there was a lot made about their uncertainty before the postseason -- particularly in Taz's case, where we had to rebuild a little bit of confidence at times," Farrell said. "The more he's come in and shut off an inning in shorter stints, that has gradually built to the point where right now I think he feels pretty good about himself."